The Society gives artists a place to share ideas with professionals in science and other artistic disciplines.
The Society of Arts was launched by the KNAW in 2014, at the instigation of Jet Bussemaker, Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science. The first 19 members were selected by a special Royal Academy Committee, henceforth, the Society of Arts will select new members from the fields of music, design, dance, film, visual art, fashion, theatre, poetry and architecture among others. The selected members will focus on the role of arts in society and the relationship between science and the arts. The Society of Arts is expected to run for a provisional period of at least three and a half years.
NIAS-Society of Arts (KNAW) partnership
NIAS and the Society of Arts (KNAW) set up the Artist-in-Residence fellowship in 2015. The aim was to offer talented people from the arts an opportunity to experience working and interacting within the specific international and interdisciplinary academic setting at NIAS. The first artist-in-residence fellowship was awarded to photographer Jan Rosseel for his project on confabulating the past. Second artist-in-residence is Arne Hendriks, for his art on downsizing the human species.